Antares, the well-nigh universal title for this splendid star, is transcribed from Ptolemy's ἀντάρης in the Syntaxis, and generally thought to be from ἀντί Ἄρης, "similar to," or the "rival of," Mars, in reference to its color, — the Latin Tetrabiblos had Marti comparatur; or, in the Homeric signification of the words, the "equivalent of Mars," either from the color-resemblance of the star to the latter, or because the astrologers considered the Scorpion the House of that planet and that god its guardian. Thus it naturally followed the character of its constellation, — perhaps originated it, — and was always associated with eminence and activity in mankind.
Grotius, however, said that the word signifies a Bat, which, as Vespertilio, Sophocles perhaps called it; but Bayer erroneously quoted from Hesychios Ἄνταρτης, a Rebel, and Tyrannus. Caesius appropriately styled the constellation Insidiata, the Lurking One.
Others say that it was Antar's Star, — but they forget Ptolemy, — the celebrated Antar or Antarah who, just previous to the time of Muḥammād, was the mulatto warrior-hero of one of the Golden Muʽallaḳāt.
Our word, however, is sometimes written Antar, which Beigel said is the Arabic equivalent of "Shone"; but the Latin translator of the 1515 Almagest connected it with Natar, Rapine, and so possibly explaining the generally unintelligible expression tendit ad rapinam applied to Antares in that work and in the Alfonsine Tables of 1521; or the expression here may refer to the character of Ἄρης, the god of war. The Rudolphine Tables designated it as rutilans, Pliny's word for "glowing redly."
The Arabians' Ḳalb al ʽAḳrab, the Scorpion's Heart, which probably preceded the Καρδία Σκορπίου and Cor Scorpii of Greece and Rome respectively, became, in early English and Continental lists, Kelbalacrab, Calbalacrab, Calbolacrabi, Calbalatrab, and Cabalatrab; Riccioli having the unique Alcantub, although he generally wrote Kalb Aakrab. Antares alone constituted the 16th manzil, Al Ḳalb, the Heart, one of the fortunate stations; but the Chinese included σ and τ, on either side, for their sieu, the synonymous Sin, anciently Sam, σ being the determinant; although Brown says that this Heart refers to that of Tsing Lung, the Azure Dragon, one of the four great divisions of their zodiac. They also have a record of a comet 531 B.C., "to the left of Ta Shin," which last Williams identified with Antares; while, as the Fire Star, Who Sing, it seems to have been invoked in worship centuries before our era for protection against fire. With some adjacent it was one of the Ming t'ang, or Emperor's Council-hall; his sons and courtiers, other stars, standing close by, to whom Antares, as Ta Who, announced the principles of his government.
p366 The Hindus used α, σ, and τ for their nakshatra Jyesthā, Oldest, also known as Rohinī, Ruddy, from the color of Antares, — Indra, the sky-goddess, being regent of the asterism that was figured as a pendent Ear Jewel.
It was one of the four Royal Stars of Persia, 3000 B.C., and probably the Guardian of the Heavens that Dupuis mentioned as Satevis; but, as their lunar asterism, it was Gel, the Red; the Sogdians changing this to Maghan sadwis, the Great One saffron-colored. The Khorasmians called it Dharind, the Seizer; and the Copts, Kharthian, the Heart.
It pointed out to the Babylonians their 24th ecliptic constellation, Hurru, of uncertain meaning, itself being Urbat according to an astrolabe discovered in the palace of Sennacherib and interpreted by the late George Smith; Brown, however, assigns this title to stars in Lupus. Other Euphratean names were Bilu-sha‑ziri, the Lord of the Seed; Kak-shisa, the Creator of Prosperity, according to Jensen, although this is generally ascribed to Sirius; and, in the lunar zodiac, Dar Lugal, the King, identified with the god of lightning, Lugal Tudda, the Lusty King. Naturally the inscriptions make much of it in connection with the planet Mars, their Ul Suru, showing that its Arean association evidently had very early origin; and from them we read Masu (?) Sar, the Hero and the King, and Kakkab Bir, the Vermilion Star. Brown identifies it with the seventh antediluvian king, Ἐυεδώρανχος, or Udda-an‑χu, the Day‑heaven-bird.
From his Assyrian researches Cheyne translates the 36th verse from the 38th chapter of the Book of Job:
Who hath put wisdom into the Lance-star?
Or given understanding to the Bow-star?
Jensen referring this Lance-star to Antares. Hommel, however, identifies it with Procyon of Canis Minor.
In Egyptian astronomy it represented the goddess Selkit, Selk‑t, or Serk‑t, heralding the sunrise through her temples at the autumnal equinox about 3700-3500 B.C., and was the symbol of Isis in the pyramid ceremonials. Renouf included it with Arcturus in the immense figure Menat.
Penrose mentions the following early Grecian temples as oriented towards the rising or setting of Antares at the vernal equinox: the Heraeum at Argos, in the year 1760, perhaps the oldest temple in cradle of Greek civilization; the first Erechtheum at Athens, 1070; one at Corinth, 770; an early temple to Apollo at Delphi, rebuilt with this orientation in 630; and one of the same date to Zeus at Aegina; — all of these before our era.
It rises at sunset on the 1st of June, culminating on the 11th of July, and is one of the so‑called lunar stars; and some have asserted that it was the first star observed through the telescope in the daytime, although Smyth made this claim for Arcturus. Ptolemy lettered it as of the 2d magnitude, so that in his day it may have been inferior in brilliancy to the now very much fainter β Librae.
Antares belongs to Secchi's third type of suns, which Lockyer says are "in the last visible stage of cooling," and nearly extinct as self-luminous bodies; although this is a theory by no means universally accepted.
The companion is 3ʺ.5 away, and suspected of revolution around its principal; their present position angle is 270°.
A photograph by Barnard in 1895 first showed the vast and intricate Cloud Nebula stretching to a great distance around Antares and the star σ. It was here, two or three degrees north of Antares, that was discovered, on the 9th of June, Coddington's comet, c of 1898, the third comet made known by the camera.
Graffias generally is said to be of unknown derivation; but since Γραψαῖος signifies "Crab," it may be that here lies the origin of the title, for it is well known that the ideas and words for crab and scorpion were almost interchangeable in early days, from the belief that the latter creature was generated from the former.2 It was thought by Grotius to be a "Barbarian" designation for the Claws of the double constellation; and Bayer said the same, although he used the word for ξ Scorpii in the modern northern claw. In Burritt's Atlas of 1835 it appears for ξ of the northern Scale, the ancient northern Claw; but in the edition of 1856 he applied it to our β Scorpii, and in both editions he has a second β at the base of the tail, west of ε. The Century Dictionary prints it Grassias, probably from erroneously reading the early type for the letter f. β is near the junction of the left claw with the body, or in the arch of the Kite bow, 8° or 9° northwest of Antares. In some modern lists it is Acrab, — Riccioli's Aakrab schemali.
It was included in the 15th manzil, Iklīl al Jabhah, the Crown of the Forehead, just north of which feature it lies, taking in with this, however, the other stars to δ and π; some authorities occasionally adding ν and ρ. This was one of the fortunate stations, and from this manzil title comes the occasional Iclil. The Hindus knew the group as their 15th nakshatra, Anurādhā, Propitious or Successful, — Mitra, the Friend, one of the Adityas, being the presiding divinity; and they figured it as a Row or Ridge, which the line of component stars well indicates. The corresponding sieu, Fang, a Room or House, anciently Fong, consisted of β with δ, π, and ρ, although Professor Whitney thought it limited to the determinant π, the faintest of the group and farthest to the south. It shared with Antares the title Ta Who, and was the central one of the seven lunar asterisms making up the Azure Dragon, Tsing Lung. But individually β seems to have been known as Tien Sze, the Four-horse Chariot of Heaven, and was worshiped by all horsemen. It probably also was Fu Kwang, the Basket with Handles, and highly regarded as presiding over the rearing of silkworms, and as indicating the commencement of the season of that great industry of China.
Timochares saw β occulted by the moon in the year 295 B.C.; and Hind repeats a statement by Ptolemy, from Chaldaean records, that the planet Mars almost occulted it on the 17th of January, 272 B.C.; Smyth, however, substituted β Librae in this phenomenon and 271 B.C. as the date.
The two largest components are 14ʺ apart, at a position angle of 25°; the third being 0ʺ.9 from the first, with a position angle of 89°.
Half-way from β to Antares lies the fine cluster, on the western edge of a starless opening 4° broad. It was this that called forth Sir William Herschel's exclamation:
Hier ist wahrhaftig ein Loch im Himmel!
although powerful telescopes reveal in it many minute stars. His son afterwards described forty-nine such spots in various parts of the sky. This cluster, that Sir William thought might perhaps have been formed by stars drawn from that vacancy, "was lit up in 1860 for a short time by the outburst of a temporary star."
It was included in the 15th manzil, Iklīl al Jabhah, the Crown of the Forehead, just north of which feature it lies, taking in with this, however, the other stars to δ and π; some authorities occasionally adding ν and ρ. This was one of the fortunate stations, and from this manzil title comes the occasional Iclil. The Hindus knew the group as their 15th nakshatra, Anurādhā, Propitious or Successful, — Mitra, the Friend, one of the Adityas, being the presiding divinity; and they figured it as a Row or Ridge, which the line of component stars well indicates. The corresponding sieu, Fang, a Room or House, anciently Fong, consisted of β with δ, π, and ρ, although Professor Whitney thought it limited to the determinant π, the faintest of the group and farthest to the south. It shared with Antares the title Ta Who, and was the central one of the seven lunar asterisms making up the Azure Dragon, Tsing Lung. But individually β seems to have been known as Tien Sze, the Four-horse Chariot of Heaven, and was worshiped by all horsemen. It probably also was Fu Kwang, the Basket with Handles, and highly regarded as presiding over the rearing of silkworms, and as indicating the commencement of the season of that great industry of China.
Timochares saw β occulted by the moon in the year 295 B.C.; and Hind repeats a statement by Ptolemy, from Chaldaean records, that the planet Mars almost occulted it on the 17th of January, 272 B.C.; Smyth, however, substituted β Librae in this phenomenon and 271 B.C. as the date.
The two largest components are 14ʺ apart, at a position angle of 25°; the third being 0ʺ.9 from the first, with a position angle of 89°.
Half-way from β to Antares lies the fine cluster, on the western edge of a starless opening 4° broad. It was this that called forth Sir William Herschel's exclamation:
Hier ist wahrhaftig ein Loch im Himmel!
although powerful telescopes reveal in it many minute stars. His son afterwards described forty-nine such spots in various parts of the sky. This cluster, that Sir William thought might perhaps have been formed by stars drawn from that vacancy, "was lit up in 1860 for a short time by the outburst of a temporary star."
γ, 3.25, red,
lies, in Bayer's map, on the tip of the southern claw, and is the same star as Flamsteed's 20 Librae; but Smyth strangely alluded to it as being at the end of the sting and nebulous; and Burritt placed Bayer's letter at the object mentioned by Smyth. Indeed for at least three hundred years there has been disagreement among astronomers as to this star; for although Argelander and Heis follow Bayer, Gould writes:
Since it appears out of the question that it should ever again be regarded as belonging to Scorpius, I have ventured to designate it by the letter σ [Librae].
Bayer cited for it Brachium, the Arm, as from Vergil, but this was erroneous in so far as being a title for this star, the original brachia in the Georgics simply signifying the "claws" that it marks; Bayer added Cornu, the Horn, as from some anonymous writer.
In Arabia it was Zubān al ʽAḳrab, the Scorpion's Claw, which has become Zuban al Kravi, Zuben Acrabi; and Bayer said Zuben Hakrabi and Zuben el Genubi, contracted from Al Zubān al Janūbiyyah, the Southern Claw. Similar titles also appear for stars in Libra, the early Claws.
In China it was Chin Chay, the Camp Carriage.
Brown included it, with others near by in Hydra's tail, in the Akkadian Entena-mas‑luv, or Ente-mas‑mur, the Assyrian Etsen-tsiri, the Tail-tip.
Since it appears out of the question that it should ever again be regarded as belonging to Scorpius, I have ventured to designate it by the letter σ [Librae].
Bayer cited for it Brachium, the Arm, as from Vergil, but this was erroneous in so far as being a title for this star, the original brachia in the Georgics simply signifying the "claws" that it marks; Bayer added Cornu, the Horn, as from some anonymous writer.
In Arabia it was Zubān al ʽAḳrab, the Scorpion's Claw, which has become Zuban al Kravi, Zuben Acrabi; and Bayer said Zuben Hakrabi and Zuben el Genubi, contracted from Al Zubān al Janūbiyyah, the Southern Claw. Similar titles also appear for stars in Libra, the early Claws.
In China it was Chin Chay, the Camp Carriage.
Brown included it, with others near by in Hydra's tail, in the Akkadian Entena-mas‑luv, or Ente-mas‑mur, the Assyrian Etsen-tsiri, the Tail-tip.
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